Poll shows tight Dem race to succeed Duckworth

Greg Hinz On Politics

From left to right: Raja Krishnamoorthi, Mike Noland and Deb Bullwinkel

Krishnamoorthi has a substantial lead, but it's not what he needs to rest easy against Noland and Bullwinkel.

That contest to succeed Tammy Duckworth in the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District may be a little closer than some expected.

The survey by GBA Strategies shows high-tech businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi with 41 percent, 27 percent for state Sen. Mike Noland and 5 percent for Villa Park President Deb Bullwinkel, with about one-quarter of voters undecided.

The poll was taken for and released by Krishnamoorthi's campaign, which argued it's making good progress and has no reason for concern. Said the candidate himself in a statement, "I'm encouraged that voters are responding to our message of protecting Social Security and Medicare, fighting for sane gun laws and standing up for policies to help struggling working families."

But Krishnamoorthi is much better funded than his foes, and previously has run both statewide (for comptroller) and in the district, when he lost to Duckworth in 2012. And his lead isn't much outside the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. If Noland can suddenly come up with a ton of money, things could get interesting.

Duckworth, of course, is vacating the 8th District House seat to run for the Democratic nomination against Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.